Live In Game Sports Betting
When betting on sports, you may first think of placing a wager against the spread or perhaps on a moneyline. You probably think of placing a futures wager, or betting on a game or player prop installed before a game. But there is another facet of betting that is out there and ready for you to take advantage of. That would be live in-game sports betting, and it is something that has definitely picked up in popularity of late with all of the technology available as well as the advent of new wagers that weren't previously possible.
Live wagering on sports is done while the game is actually unfolding. Most often, the sporting events with live betting lines available are the same football, basketball, baseball, etc. games that you can watch on whatever national network or cable sports channel. Those making the odds are following the game as you would at home, and adjust game lines as well as form new player/game props depending on how one team or player is performing up to that point in the action.
It really is quite fun to do and some of the best sportsbooks with live betting allow users to track the game almost as well as a game-tracker application on a major sports website. We're going to go into all that and more here on LiveInGameBetting.com plus show you where you can bet on sports as the games are actually being played live.
Placing a live bet on a sporting event at an online sportsbook is legal for American players. It follows the same process as betting any other type of wager at a sports betting site. U.S. players are not breaking the federal laws in place when they make a bet at an online sportsbook that is operating offshore. Both the sportsbook and the bettor are within their right to do so.
Look at it this way, any international sports betting operating is obviously not subject to laws that regulate what happens inside U.S. borders. And provided that the bettor in the U.S. meets the minimum legal age requirements to gamble at the site and in their state, it's not a problem. So those of you who are potentially worried about the legality of live betting on sports at these sites, should put your minds at ease. There are only a few states with legal sports betting if done in person, but almost every state is allowed to bet on sports online.
There are a number of sports which offer live in game betting. Whether it's wagering on the NFL, College Football, MLB, the NBA and more, there are plenty of betting lines out there. In fact, you might be surprised as to how many sports do offer live betting.
- NFL - The NFL is a sport that offers live wagering, but not for every game on the schedule. Usually, nationally televised games such as Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football would be the most common games each week where you can bet live. Alternate game lines, and props will be available during live betting.
- College Football - Similar to the NFL, college football live betting is often only available on nationally televised games, or games with a very large national audience. Thursday night football would be a good example, as well as the prime time games on Saturday night, but others will also be included.
- College Basketball - The NCAA Tournament in late March/early April is the most popular time for live betting on college basketball, especially as it gets down to the Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final Four and National Championship game. Live wagering on college basketball is available during all parts of the season though, in fact, almost every night.
- NBA - NBA live in-game betting is also available for most of nationally televised games during the season, and pretty much the entire second season of the playoffs. As the post season gets down to the conference finals, every game from every series will be available for live wagering.
- NHL - Live betting on NHL games usually occurs during the postseason. Regular season live betting does exist but it is more harder to find than with other sports because of the lack of nationally televised games. Still, there are lots of good scoring props and other live betting lines to take advantage of.
- MLB - There are more MLB games during the season than any other sport. Live betting on MLB games is also available, usually during Sunday Night Baseball which is the main event for MLB each week but other national games such as those covered on ESPN (Monday Night, Wednesday Night), on TBS, and on FOX are also regularly included in the fun.
- Soccer - Depending on the event, Soccer/European Football will be available at most online betting sites that offer live betting. The World Cup and UEFA are the most popular events to place live wagers on, but even league play in La Liga and the Premier League are also popular and often available too... especially at European bookmakers.
- Tennis - Just like the rest of the sports that offer live betting, tennis is the same way, usually occurring during the Grand Slams such as Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, etc... This is especially true when the semi-finals and finals roll around and the biggest names in the sport are butting heads for a major championship.
Below is an example of how one might go about wagering live at Bovada, one of our top-rated online sportsbooks for live betting. Not every online sportsbook will follow that exact same process, but we want to demonstrate the steps that are involved. As you will see, it's a pretty simple process to follow, with the only variables being the different bets that you will want to make when going into the live betting for your games.
- 1. The first thing that you are going to want to do when in the live betting section of Bovada is to click on one of the events you wish to wager on. This can be found on the left column after entering the live betting section, which will detail what games/events are currently playing, and which ones are on deck for later.
- 2. You will also notice the format in which the odds are in for each of the available wagers. The default setting for this page is American. However, the drop down box located just above the betting odds offer to display as decimal or fractional lines.
- 3. Select the amount you want to bet by selecting the increments available, or manually enter a custom amount to be wagered on the game. The increments go from 1-5-10-25-50-100 as the options available to you by clicking. There is no confirmation, so make sure you know what you are clicking on.
- 4. From there, look at the betting lines available to you on the table, with up and down arrows indicating hot and cold trends for the wager. The wagers which are currently active at the time will expand to show the odds. Click on the betting line you want to place the wager on and the bet is made.
Single Click Mode vs. Bet Slip Mode
You may notice on the top lefthand corner of the live betting page on Bovada it will say 'Change to Bet Slip Mode' or 'Change To Single Click Mode'. If you are in Bet Slip Mode, you will select a bet instead of a wager amount first. From there after you have selected the bet, you select an amount to wager, which will then let you know how much you are risking for how much of a profit in the top righthand corner. Then hit 'Place Bet' and the bet is made. Also, while in Bet Slip Mode and a line goes off the board or changes, the change will be displayed accordingly, or the bet will be suspended.
The first thing to check is to see what games and events are available to have live betting, because as we said before, not every game will have this option. Typically these games are identified rather easily with an icon that will say "Bet Live", or something to that effect.
You want to either click the game that you can bet live, or go to the live betting section of the sportsbook. On Bovada Sportsbook for example, there is a 'Live Betting' tab at the top of the page. Upon clicking that option, you will be brought to a page where all of the live betting games and options are presented to you, as well as which games/events are available now, and the ones that are starting soon.
The bets will be presented to you straightforward, and you will have to option to wager, or keep watching to see what bets continue to come up. It's that easy!
There are a variety of sportsbooks that off live in-game betting. We have these sportsbooks listed below along with their bonuses and whether or not they accept USA players. There are many betting sites that feature live wagering, but we wanted to detail some of the ones that rank higher in the industry than the rest. Whether it be the quality of service, the sheer volume of betting lines, or a number of other combinations, the sportsbooks dicussed below are certainly ones that can be trusted.
Bovada - Live In-Game Lines For For Most U.S. Sports Including NFL + College Football
For sports bettors living in the U.S., it doesn't get any better in terms of live in-game betting than what Bovada provides. The have a great interface with which you can easily identify games that have live betting options, or you can click on the live betting section to view their realtime sports betting app. When it comes to betting lines on sports, Bovada is your ticket.
Depending on what time of year you visit the live betting section at Bovada obviously dictates the available sports and games that will be offered. But Bovada does a nice job of laying out the current games that can be bet on live, plus the upcoming match ups for the day that will become available at a certain point.
Getting access to live wagering and different bets that can be made is easy as well. Bovada accepts numerous deposit methods which make transferring funds almost as fast as the time it takes to make a live bet on the site. These deposit methods include a VISA Card, and a Rapid Transfer wire transfer. When making that first deposit into Bovada, up to a $250 bonus can be had by bettors as well. This is a 50 percent match up a deposit, so a $500 deposit receives the max bonus.
SportsBetting.ag - Bet Live On Sports w/ Up To $900 Free; Lifetime Reload Bonus
Betting live on different games is one of the great features at SportsBetting.ag. Right from there homepage on the links at the top is the 'live betting' option that is provided, for which account holders and prospective account holders can click in to view what's available. Information on how to bet live at SportsBetting.ag is provided on the main page for those who are not account holders at the sportsbook. Simply create an account, which takes just minutes, and you will be ready to place live wagers.
American players are welcome to sign up and bet live at SportsBetting.ag. In fact, players from all 50 states in the U.S. can join. Live lines from a variety of sports in play can be accessed, with SportsBetting.ag making it easy to follow on what matchups and types of odds are formed.
A special $25 bonus is given to bettors who make their first live in-game wager. Simply place a $25 bet down using the money from you account. If it wins, keep the cash. If it loses, SportsBetting.ag will refund the wager!
5Dimes - Many Friendly Betting Options For Those Wagering During The Big Game
5Dimes has one of the biggest sportsbooks in operation today, and yes there are plenty of opportunities to bet live on games. The sportsbook is home to a ton of different sports that the field wagers on. Players in the United States are able to sign up and join, and then if they choose, bet live on games in progress.
Once an account is created at 5Dimes, betting live is pretty straightforward. Go through the different sports once you access the betting lines section, and check out the in-play and in-game odds that are available. Once a bettor finds the sport or game they are interested in, the betting options for live play will be presented in front of them.
Place one wager, place a number of wagers, it's up to the player. Funding a 5Dimes account as a player in the U.S. can be done with a Visa card, cashier's check, or a money order.
Bet365 - #1 For Live Football Betting (Soccer) However... NO AMERICANS ALLOWED!
Outside of the United States, the place to go for live sports punting is Bet365. Based in the U.K., this sportsbook operates freely and with almost unlimited resources. They have built a massive live betting application which runs just a few seconds behind. If you are a fan of European football, then this is the book you need to be at. More options for betting on live matches are found here than anywhere else.
Unfortunately, American players are not accepted at Bet365, but if you live outside of the United States this is certainly a fantastic online sportsbook option. They offer sports in America as live betting options, plus a ton of other different international leagues spanning a variety of countries.
Bet365 accepts more deposit methods than just about any other sportsbook around the world, but it does depend on which country you are from as far as which options are accepted for you. Luckily, Bet365 has deposit methods listed by country to make it easy on the player.
Live betting at online sportsbooks is the most interactive form of wagering on sports on the Internet. It is something that is very cool, and once you partake in it, you will likely want to check it out again. The fact that you can get in on all of the action as a game is happening has opened up a whole new facet to the world of sports betting.
The popularity of live in-game betting has grown such that just about every online sportsbook around the world has their section for bettors to get in on. There is something for everyone who enjoys betting live on games, whether at one sportsbook, or a number of them.